Exercise and Party All You Want?

Is it true if you exercise you can party all you want? Nope. This isn't the case at all. In fact, this is one of my favorite fitness myths that makes me cringe when I hear it like listening to finger nails on a chalkboard. Why on Earth do people think that if you get regular physical activity (wise choice) that you can put all the junk food and alcohol you want into the body? Clearly there is a huge contradiction here that baffles me, but seems to be justification for others. That is like going to get your car waxed, polished and detailed JUST so you can go mud-whomping with the windows down. It doesn't make any sense.

In fact if you work out intensely during the week just so you can party like a rock star on the weekend, you may be doing more harm than good to your body. This is because the body recovers during periods of non-activity. What you choose to do during the time in between workouts greatly dictates the positive effects exercise has on your body like boosted metabolism, increase in lean muscle tissue, better fat burning capabilities and healthy hormone function. Long nights without sleep, junk food and the over consumption of alcohol is bad enough on its own and when you couple that with a body that is trying to recover you have a recipe for a weakened immune system, a slower metabolism and decreases in physical performance. What's the smart way to have your cake and eat it too? Limit your partying to maybe once or twice in a month and don't workout on the days you do plan to go out and have some drinks. Limit your alcohol consumption to a moderate intake and don't drink yourself to oblivion for a number of obvious reasons. Be smart, be safe and be healthy.

Wakeup Workout: Face Pull

Today's Wakeup Workout featured a great rehab/corrective exercise and an alternate variation to fix postural deviations that occur from sitting down and hovering over a desk. Front deltoid and pectoral muscles tighten and shorten while the trapezius muscle, rear delts and upper back muscles elongate and become weakened when our body is hunched over for long periods of time. Here's how you can fix this issue!

Is Your Job Making You Fat?

We all know jobs can be stressful, but are they the reason you're getting fatter? A recent study shows this may be true:

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers conducted the study of 2,782 employees at a large manufacturing facility in upstate New York, but the results could be applicable to almost any job situation in which layoffs, or lack of control at work, is a major concern.

The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine published the research in January 2010.

Lead author Diana Fernandez, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., an epidemiologist at the URMC Department of Community and Preventive Medicine, said her study is among many that associate high job pressure with cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, depression, exhaustion, anxiety and weight gain. - Live Science Daily (click for full article on study)

Let me explain some of the science behind the physiological and psychological reasons your job is actually making you fat. First off, if you work a desk job you are a prime target for weight gain AND a protruding gut. How so? Our body produces a fat metabolizing enzyme called lipase which is produced when we are active and on our feet. When we sit for long periods of time, lipase stops acting thus decreasing our fat burning capabilities. That is just one DEEPER physiological reason we burn fat less efficiently while sitting. The more simple part of the equation is the fact that sitting all day requires very little metabolic demand which means your metabolism is moving like a rock AT LEASE 8 HOURS A DAY if you don't ever get up and move around. It is even worse if you do not regularly participate in physical activity. You can of course counteract these affects by taking regular breaks in your work day to stand up and walk around, as well as getting your daily dose of exercise.

What about that protruding stomach? Working a sedentary job weakens your core muscles and the intrinsic stabilizers of your trunk. Your transversus abdominis is like an internal corset and when the muscle weakens or is not tight, your stomach actually protrudes out. This sticking out of the gut makes weight gain appear more severe. You can fight this affect by performing isometric core stabilization exercises like planks (all forms of them!). Performing stabilization exercises for the core is KEY to functional health!

Stressful jobs as opposed to sedentary jobs are making us fat because of the psychological effects of stress. In the caveman days, the fight or flight response worked to keep us safe from getting eaten by other animals like lions, tigers and bears oh my! Now a days, our fight or flight response is triggered by bosses, deadlines, projects and profit margins. If the mind perceives stress, mentally or physically, the biological response is the same: increase in heart rate, blood pressure goes up, rapid breathing and adrenaline races through the body to ensure survival. The problem for us now is that we could run away from the bear and be safe, but most of us can't outrun the daily grind. Chronic stress has proven to predispose people to weight gain and cardiovascular disease due to the constant triggering of the fight or flight response and the increased presence of  the catabolic hormone cortisol.  You can counteract your daily stresses with periodic breaks in the day, meditation and what do you know, EXERCISE!

The moral of the story: GET YOURSELF ON A DAILY EXERCISE PROGRAM TO FIGHT FAT AND RELIEVE STRESS!!!!

Choosing Your Habit

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." -Aristotle

If you wish to transform your life, look no further than your own thoughts and actions. We BECOME something when we continually take action that demonstrates a certain condition. This process of becoming can be mystifying as our mind believes one thing, yet through the action of our physical body we manifest another thing. For instance; we may WISH and be CONSCIOUS of the fact that we should make healthier food habits. This thought may be on our mind all day long. This truly is half the battle, but the real question is when it counts: Do we take action that falls in alignment with this belief? You may be THINKING about better food choices and eating controlled portions, BUT you may not be controlling yourself the way you should be when it comes down to it. Likewise, you may THINK about going to the gym all you want and you may even show up to do some exercise. Once you get there, are you PERFORMING the WORK necessary to see results? Or are you showing up and just going through the motions? A friend of mine, author Eldon Thompson once said to me in the gym, "My favorite thing about exercise is you get exactly what you put into it. If you come in and give 100% you'll get 100% out of it" Eldon couldn't be more accurate. I challenge you to challenge YOURSELF! What is it you want to be? Do you want to be lean? Do you want to be muscular? Do you want to be a better athlete? If so, don't just think it: act on it and BE it.

Fitness Is Not a Look, It's a Lifestyle

I regret to inform all of you who were hoping to track my photo shoot adventure from start to finish and find me ranting and raving about the process may be sorely disappointed by my next sentence. I am done with that process and I am cutting it short for me. Why, you ask? It comes down to one principle: It just isn't Who I Am.

At first, I viewed the opportunity for a photo shoot to be a great little experiment. After all, I do train out of a facility owned by one of the leading cosmetic trainers in the business and it is a path I have never really explored. The prospect of hitting a diet I had never attempted and sculpting my body sounded kind of exciting at first. After a short week and a half of some hardcore dieting and turning my exercise routine upside down I've already had it...I'm done with it. The issue: My abs are looking better and my body is four pounds lighter but I feel like absolute CRAP.

Any of you who train with me, follow my blogs and interact with me know that I don't do this job to create magazine cover models. I do this job to help people live a healthier lifestyle. I emphasize positive, balanced eating choices, non-sedentary activities and challenging exercise routines that will push your fitness to new levels. My preparation for this photo shoot has been: One, complete insanity and two, complete hypocrisy. To throw out my well-balanced and effective nutrition plan for one that nearly cuts out an entire macro-nutrient group on a daily basis is just stupid and my body and mind feel it. Typically I feel pretty great every day because I keep myself well-fueled! Trading in my metabolism boosting and heart pumping exercise routines for isolated movements and poses completely go against why I workout. I workout for improved human function and the long term benefits!

I don't want to take photos and have them appear on my website, in a magazine or in my DVD ads that are a false representation of Who I Am. How can I feel good about taking photos that say, "Look like me if you train like me!" when nothing in my preparation for those images had anything to do with the real approach I take to fitness. This is because I don't train to look a certain way. I train, eat and live the way I do because I have chosen a fitter lifestyle. How I look is a by product of positive food choices and functional workouts. Now that my photo shoot has been pushed back a few weeks, I am going to train the way I do to get ready for it. If an average body fat of between 9-12%, a resting heart rate below 60 bpm and healthy blood pressure doesn't look fit enough to sell me and inspire others, well then I guess I am going to have to just live with it.

Wakeup Workout: Park Bench

Trading in the bench press for a park bench, here is a good little routine you can do on just about ANY platform! You can do this circuit in the park, in your living room, in the garage and yeah even in the gym with a real bench! Have fun!

Wakeup Workout: Monkey Bars

With a little creativity a workout is possible ANYWHERE with anything. This Wakeup Workout shoot in the park pushed it for me, but here is a good one!

Keeping Warm When It's Cold

@MiniRowRow asked me on Twitter how she could stay warm when exercising outside in the cold. Here is my take on staying warm to stay fit!



KEEP THE QUESTIONS COMING!

Chris Running the LA Marathon

Congratulations to friend and NBC Los Angeles news anchor Chris Schauble for another successful domination of a marathon! Today Chris ran in the L.A. Marathon which started over by Dodger Stadium and finished up at the Santa Monica Pier. 26 Miles of pure Tour de Los Angeles on foot is quite the accomplishment! Chris works very hard inside and outside of the gym to stay in great physical shape as he eyes his next Ironman competition. Congrats Chris on all your hard work and success! You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisSchauble and watch him host the daily Wakeup Workouts on NBC 4 Los Angeles!

(Photo courtesy of Rich Cruse | www.richcruse.com)

Is Gatorade OK on Non-Workout Days?

Here is a question from @glaziers_gal and @fat500 from twitter regarding Gatorade intake on non-workout days. Here's my take:

No Carbs!? WHAT!?

I've been dieting pretty hard now for about a week. My photo shoot looks like it is only about another week away and I already feel like I am going a little crazy. I mentioned my carbohydrate intake is between 100-150 grams which is only 400-600 calories worth of carbs. Now that may sound like a lot to some of you, but when consider my food intake is usually up around 2,800-3,000 calories you see how difficult it is for me to make up the difference with proteins and fats. There is no doubt the results are there. On the scale I am down about three pounds and you can noticeably see more definition in my torso. Some of the weight loss comes from my near depletion of carbohydrates. When you cut carbs you are also essentially cutting out a major water carrier. This is why carb depletion results in such rapid loss of "weight" on the scale.

Physically the diet has not been bad. I am feeling pretty satiated throughout the day when I get all my protein in at the proper time. My workouts are a little tough because I don't have the same energy available that I typically do, but I am also working out at about a quarter of the intensity. The hard part is the mental game or struggling to find snacks that can hold me over if need be. If I can eat my perfect meal plan, I won't get too hungry. But I do have a job that requires constant attention to clients and sometimes it can be tough to plan snacks on this schedule. Typically when I get hungry and know I won't be able to get to a good clean meal I will just slap together a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, grab some fruit or eat a CLIF bar. The truth is I have been hanging around 10-11% body fat just working out like a monster and eating my normal food plan. The problem for me in this diet is that those snacks are all carbs! I am already a picky and calculating eater for the most part and that is what keeps me at a healthy body fat level without too much effort anymore. But this dieting down takes it to a whole new level that is in fact exhausting. All I can say is I am glad this venture is more of an experiment with these body sculpting techniques and that I don't actually care about being 7% body fat all of the time because I'd go completely nuts. Throw in the fact that my prep time is very short so it's more of a crash and I have a nice recipe for complete madness! Just know that you don't have to eat like this to lose weight and be healthy. These techniques are all about the looks...is it worth it? I'll leave that up to you to figure out.

Wakeup Workout: Explosive Legs

Add a little pop into your step with this awesome plyometrics routine! Start small, then go big! If your heart rate isn't up after this, I'll be very surprised. Ideally this routine should be performed one movement at a time with a short rest interval in between sets. If you perform a circuit like shown, your legs are sure to be burning up with lactic acid build up!

Wakeup Workout: Core Abs

This morning's Wakeup Workout featured a nice concise core routine you can do with a medicine ball! You can perform these exercises as a circuit as shown in the video or you can move through each movement one at a time.

Video Blog: Abraham McDonald Get Some!

Here's a video of rising musical super star Abraham McDonald getting some work in with me at his house in Los Angeles. Abe is getting ready to make his mark on the music scene in the upcoming months so he is working hard to get into touring shape. Abe's quest to bring sexy back has been successful thus far dropping more than 2 inches from his waist, just under 2 inches from his chest and over 4 inches from his lower body in just 3 weeks. Watch Abe get some leg work in on this TRX squat variation! Make sure you follow Abe and his rise to the top, he is a fantastic artist!

Prepping For A Photo Shoot

Turns out I am going to be doing a photo shoot on either March 28th or April 4th. I am going to be doing some fitness photos as recommended by client, rising star musical artist and model manager Abraham McDonald. Needless to say I am tightening up on my diet real quick! I am currently at 11% body fat and I am looking to drop quick in the next couple weeks. To help me on my photo shoot ready adventure, super trainer Jordan Yuam has offered to help me fine tune some body parts prior to the shoot. Today we did some arms and let me tell you...they were blasted! I don't typically do too much arm work, maybe once a week if I am lucky. Typically I am training on a tight schedule and looking to slam the most work in using as little time as possible. To tune up for the upcoming photo shoot I definitely have to change my current routine. I especially have to change my nutrition because I will be cutting calories to lean out some more, so my workouts cannot be as metabolically demanding or else I will lose precious lean muscle tissue and have a hard time pushing through my workouts.

When it comes to isolated movements, shaping and sculpting, I am pretty sure there is no one in the business as good as Jordan. He has a unique ability to completely move the way an exercise hits a certain muscle group. A tweak here and an adjustment there and a completely new part of my bicep was on fire. Today Jordan pretty much rocked my arms and it was a lot of fun learning from him. From here on out we're going to work on my upper chest, medial deltoid and arms to get me photo ready. My diet is pretty strict. I am going to a pretty low carb cycle of 100-150g of carbohydrates a day for 5 days, a carb loading day and then repeating that cycle. My protein intake is going to be very high at 285 grams a day (1.5 my body weight). The rest of the calories will be made up in peanut butter, veggies and nuts! Remember that "Chasing the Illusion" process I talked about? Well, now I get to be a part of it first hand, and I am going to let you know what it is like every step of the way!

Wakeup Workout: Dips

Many city parks have little stations laying around that allow you to do some form of resistance or balance training. Here's how to properly use the dip station in the park!

Video Blog: U.S. Army Basic Training Makeover

My two cents on the recent news release that the U.S. Army will be changing it's conditioning practices...Comments please!

Routine of DEATH

Today I literally did one of the hardest exercise routines I have ever completed. Upon some discussion with 24 Hour Fitness Manager and Cross Fit guru Scott Dumas, he recommended trying what he called "The Triplet". It was quite possibly the worst twenty minutes of my life and it goes a little something like this:

Perform a countdown from 10 to 1 of the following movements with as little rest as possible. Run through one set of all the exercises, then come back through again taking one rep off each time.

Barbell Deadlift with 1 1/2 times your body weight.

Barbell Bench with your body weight.

Hang Clean with 3/4 your body weight.

Weighing in at 193lbs today, my numbers shook out to a 285lb deadlift, 195lb bench and 145lb clean. I got through my 10 and 9 rounds using these weights. At this point I was already cursing Scott, sweating profusely and suffering some serious arm pump. By number 8, I dropped 10 pounds off my deadlift because my grip was already wrecked and it was screwing up my form. After back to back to back heavy sets of deadlifts coupled with the hang cleans, my low back was already on fire and my glutes were trying to figure out what I was doing to them. When I got to 7 I could barely hold onto the bar, so I dropped down to a 225lb deadlift half way through the set. I completed my 7 and 6 reps with 225lb deadlift, 195lb bench and 145lb hang clean.

Then came the glorious 5 rep set. Barely able to close my own hand, I picked up the 225lb bar, performed two reps and then "rrrippp" there goes a nice little callous ripping off of my left ring finger. Shocked and sort of irritated by the whole routine's difficulty, I sucked it up and finished my set. I stepped up to set four trying to put the idea of an open wound and the potential of staff infection in the back of my mind so I could finish my workout. When I grabbed the bar there was another tearing of skin! This time it was a huge callous on my right hand nearly coming clean off under the weight of the bar. I shook it out and dropped the weight to 135lbs because I didn't want to lose anymore skin. I grabbed my towel and wrapped the hand up to finish the deadlifts and bench all the way to 1. I decided to forgo the cleans since my hands were falling apart, so I performed tuck jumps to keep my explosive work going.

After that fun little adventure I spent some time in the bathroom cleaning up the skin and disinfecting my little battle wounds. Despite falling apart like the black knight (for you Monty Python fans) and completely destroying my body with three exercises in twenty minutes, I sadistically enjoyed my time with the Triplet. There are three points to this story:

One, try this nasty triplet but with some lighter weight at first and work up to being a complete BEAST.

Two, it is going to be the worst 15-20 minutes of your life whether you tear off callouses or not, so just prep yourself mentally and put on some hardcore metal to get you through the grind.

Three, anything can be accomplished with a little blood and sweat.

Have fun.

Video Blog: Interview with Chad Dashnaw

Quick interview with Portland State bound QB and BombergerPT client Chad Dashnaw! Chad has been training with me for the past six weeks or so and has done a tremendous job of getting in the gym and getting after it. You can see Chad's highlight videos on youtube and there's not a doubt in my mind with this kids physical tools and his work ethic he has a shot at a long football career...Enjoy!

On the Set with "Today in LA"

The Wake Up Workout crew got a tour of the Today In L.A. set today! I sat in the big man Chris Schauble's chair (King of the Castle, I have a chair...for you Borat fans!) Today we had killer shoot outside in Johnny Carson Park as we shot routines you can do in the outdoors! Sitting on the TLA set made me think maybe I'll be doing some fitness news reporting or a little fitness journalism? THAT would be awesome!

Wakeup Workout: Push Complex

Here is a simple Push Complex to throw into your routine on metabolic days. Complexing is a great way to build up strength and endurance in a short amount of time. Enjoy!

Video Blog: Rest Days

Send me your fitness questions to be answered on my new Video Blog segments! This one is from twitter follower Aidan aka @aocpr regarding rest days...

Wakeup Workout: Pull Complex

Here's the Wakeup Workout version of a simple dumbbell pull complex. Those of you who follow the site will notice this is a fairly simple and light version of the technique, which just proves anyone can do it! With that in mind, you want to push as hard a YOU can to get the MOST out of the work. A great way to determine how much work you're doing? Multiple the amount of reps you perform for each exercise and multiply by it by the amount of weight you're using. Then multiply that number and multiply it by the number of sets you perform. This will give you your total workload performed in the complex session. The goal is: INCREASE YOUR NUMBER! The higher the workload, the greater the overload is on the body which means more results!

Wakeup Workout: Relieve Low Back Pain

Here are some basic exercises to help strengthen the posterior chain (erector spinae, posterior deltoids, glutes, hamstrings). Tight hip flexors and weak muscles in the posterior chain are common causes for low back pain and discomfort among sedentary people. These exercises can be performed just about anywhere and can help strengthen your weak backside! Try 2-4 rounds of these exercises to build strength and stability in your erector spinae muscle group, posterior deltiods, hamstrings and glutes.

It's What's On The Inside That Counts

In the movie Liar Liar the boy playing Jim Carrey's son says, "My teacher said real beauty is on the inside." To which Jim Carrey's character replies, "That's just something fat people say." The kid is not far off, especially when it comes to long term health and wellness. While some of you may be struggling to figure out what this has to do with fitness, let me just spell it out for you: whether you look the way you wish you did or not, you need to exercise for the obvious health benefits. It's disheartening for me to hear about people who give up diet and exercise because "it doesn't seem to work for them." What we must realize is a healthy diet and exercise is essential to long term health and longevity, not just personal vanity.

Don't get me wrong, I believe it is important for us to feel comfortable in our own skin. Having a healthy self-image is vital to maintaining a healthy experience of the rest of the world. But a good diet and regular physical activity extends beyond dropping pounds and chiseled six-pack abs. The truth of the matter is, if you honestly stick with a healthy nutrition plan and continually exercise over the course of months and years the results will eventually follow. We have to stop kidding ourselves and pretending that three or four weeks of a lifestyle change is going undo five, ten, fifteen, twenty and maybe even thirty years of total body negligence. There is something we fail to realize about the human body: it wants to maintain homeostasis.

For those of you who snoozed through Biology class, homeostasis is the ability of a cell or organism to maintain a stable internal environment when dealing with external changes. Basically, once the body is at a point of comfort and stability, it is going to resist altering that position until it becomes absolutely necessary to make adaptations to ensure sustainability. When you carry around 20 or 30% body fat around for most of your life, your body becomes comfortable at that point. Because your sedentary lifestyle and affinity for poor food choices has been the body's environment for ten or twenty years, it has not been subjected to a stimulus or environment that requires it to carry less fat and run with a more efficient metabolism. Essentially what you have to do to see results is create an environment in which your body must expend calories and metabolize fat for survival. This new environment must persist long enough for the body to break its current homeostatic position and adapt to a new form of homeostasis. Therefore, if you have been diligently eating well and exercising for a couple weeks, months or even a year you must be patient as you reprogram your biology.

You must approach your fat loss goals from an evolutionary perspective. If your environment for the last twenty years has allowed you to be overweight, then you can expect to change your environment for a considerable amount of time before it starts to change. With these biological principles in mind, you cannot fail to acknowledge what the diet and exercise process does for you internally. Your heart will grow stronger, visceral fat will decrease, you will lower cholesterol levels, your insulin sensitivity will increase and hyperglycemic conditions will subside long before you begin to see any physical changes. Much like any real change we wish to see in ourselves, even the physical changes start from the inside out. Don't give up on your goals and stick to a long term plan with short goals as check points. When it comes down to it, internal health is what helps you live longer and healthier, not a six pack.

Survival Of The FITtest

Over 150 years ago, Charles Darwin developed an evolutionary theory based on a process called natural selection. In short, natural selection is the process in which traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in an organism's population over the course of several generations. Darwin claimed only the fittest organisms on the Earth would continue to evolve and survive over long periods of time. Of course, what he was talking about was an organism's ability to adapt and survive in its competitive ecosystem. Do you think Darwin would ever have guessed a population of the most intelligent life form on the planet might actually think and act itself totally unfit for survival?

Homo sapien erectus-Americus (yes I made that up) is becoming increasingly gluttonous and unfit. Unlike the rest of the animal kingdom and much of the human population, the rate of obesity, metabolic disease and coronary heart disease continues to climb in America. Over 67% of Americans are overweight with another one-third of them weighing in at obese. The number one killer in America is heart disease, followed by cancer, then stroke and rounding out the top five is diabetes. To put things simply, lazy Americans are making lifestyle choices that are killing them. The research is in and four of the top five causes of death in America are strongly linked with lifestyle choices we make on a daily basis. Do you know of any other animal population that will eat itself sick, ingest chemicals and poison for recreation, almost completely neglecting to protect its own valuable life?

Charles Darwin is rolling around in his grave as he watches one of the most fit and evolved organisms actually choose to be unfit for survival! Thanks to modern medicine, technology and economic status (we're in a recession, but we're no where near a third-world country) our survival is a no-brainer. At least it was until we as a country decided to super-size everything including our assess. 24 Hour Fitness came under a lot of scrutiny a few years back when the company made t-shirts and billboards with a picture of aliens that said, "When they come, they will eat the fat ones first". With two-thirds of the country overweight, you can see why there was a lot of uproar and hurt feelings. All sensitivity aside; being sedentary, overweight and overindulgent in food and drink is unfit. This lifestyle undoubtedly points at an organism that is choosing its own extinction in evolutionary theory. I used to think Darwin was just a crazy scientist, but now I'm beginning to think he may have been a personal trainer...

Photo courtesy of anabolicminds.com

Hypertrophy Pull Day

Here's a Pull Day for all of you who want to see what a hypertrophy day looks like in the Hypertrophy-Metabolic split routine I've been using. I did 4 sets of 5 for my Power cleans, 4 sets of 10 for everything else and no more than 45 seconds of rest in between each set. Get some!

Low Glycemic Carbs, Protein & Weight Loss: Part II

I know you have taken the last installment of this article and really tried to embrace the information I provided. Now I am going to make the process a little easier for you by giving you some tips for the practical application of the low glycemic carb and protein concept. First I am going to talk about good carbohydrate selection. Then I am going to discuss protein's role in your daily meals and finally I will talk a little about the meals that are a staple in my own personal diet.

Choosing "good" carbohydrates is relatively easy. First on the list, beware of "white" foods and enriched products. White pasta, white rice, white bread and flour tortillas are all stripped of much of their nutritional value leaving us with a carbohydrate with very little nutritious value and less fiber. These "airy" foods will often leave you hungry after a short amount of time which means you will more likely head back to the cupboard for more snacks shortly after your meal. Stick with more fibrous food choices like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread and corn tortillas when choosing your carbohydrates. Eating a baked potato with its skin is a great potato source. The fibrous outer layer of a baked potato takes longer to digest than if you eat french fries or mashed potatoes, which again results in a slower release of glucose into the blood stream. Be sure to fill your diet with a lot of veggies. Vegetables take a lot of work to be broken down by your digestive system, they are an unparalleled source of vitamins and nutrients and they keep you satiated without adding tons of calories. As for fruits, they are simple carbohydrates on the glycemic index, but their nutritional value when it comes to vitamins, minerals and antioxidants far out weigh their high glycemic rating. The key to eating carbohydrates is picking ones that won't leave you hungry after your meals and that will cause a less drastic initial insulin response.

Now for the protein part. Eating lean proteins like egg whites, fish, tuna, turkey, chicken and some clean cuts of beef are the way to go when it comes to choosing a good source of protein that will keep you satiated. Although not everyone agrees on whether eating animal product is necessary or not, the truth is most of us eat some sort of lean meat and it serves as an excellent source of complete proteins we. Due to the complex structure of meat products, it takes a tremendous amount of work by our digestive system to metabolize fish, chicken and beef. I typically recommend my clients eat some sort of lean protein with every major meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) because it will help them feel more full. As I stated in Part I, feeling of fullness will keep us from senseless snacking or binge eating readily available simple carbohydrates found in many snack foods. This technique has been especially effective for me since I typically want to eat every two hours. When I get a good lean cut of beef or a big piece of chicken, I don't feel like I am starving a couple hours later and I can move through my day more comfortably. Lean protein shakes are great snacks for fat loss because they won't cause an insulin response, especially if they are pure protein without any sort of carbohydrate balance.

Now that I have armed you with some general food selection knowledge, I am going to share some of my personal favorites that I use daily. First off, let's talk about breakfast. Breakfast is the start of the day, so it's good to have a lot of carbs in the morning to get that metabolism revved up. I basically have three choices I use for breakfast: Oatmeal + Turkey Sausage + Protein Shake + Fruit, Breakfast Burrito (Egg White + Turkey Sausage + Whole Wheat Tortilla) + Fruit, or if I am in a rush Wheaties Fuel or Trader Joe's Golden Flax Cereal + Meal Replacement Shake. For my snacks I will use throughout the day: PB & J (so classic, economical and utterly awesome), two omega-3 enriched chicken patties from Costco, EAS lean protein shake + fruit, Cellucor IsoPro Sport shake, small turkey sandwich + fruit and CLIF bars + fruit. For lunch I keep it pretty basic: Brown Rice + Chicken + Veggies, Turkey Burger Patties + Baked Potato + Veggies, Turkey Meat + Whole Wheat Tortilla Burritos, Whole Wheat Pasta + Turkey Meatballs, Baked Potato + Chili (homemade, oh yeah!). As for dinner, much of the same that I have at lunch if not the exact same thing. Don't get me wrong, I have my cheat day that last from Friday night to Saturday evening, then I get right back on the horse on Sundays. It helps keep me sane and focused. For the most part, those are the food choices I have found work for me and my body. I hope this helps you all a little more with your fitness goals!

Low Glycemic Carbs, Protein & Weight Loss: Part I

As you may remember from my resting metabolic rate post, losing weight is a little more complicated than it sounds. We're simply told to move more, eat less and it we'll be happy as a lark with our results, right? A couple days ago I told you if you don't eat enough calories you'll actually slow your metabolism and curb your fat loss. This physiological fact is important and complicates the weight loss process a bit more. Now I am going to share with you the importance of consuming low glycemic carbohydrates, protein and their role in aiding your weight loss.

First, you must be familiar with the Glycemic Index. The Glycemic Index is a system that rates all carbohydrates based on how quickly they metabolize and the degree in which they cause an insulin response. A low glycemic rating indicates a smaller insulin response, whereas a high rating means the carbohydrate causes a more drastic insulin spike. Here's what you need to know about carbohydrates and insulin: when you eat carbohydrates, the body releases the hormone insulin to help the body absorb glucose into the liver, muscles and fat tissue. Free floating glucose will end up in the blood stream to be used for immediate energy, while the rest is stored in the body. High insulin levels are an indicator that a high amount of glucose is available for energy use, therefore the body stops burning fat. To efficiently burn fat and keep your body from abandoning its fat burning capabilities, you must control your insulin levels.

You can control your insulin levels by eating low glycemic carbohydrates and protein. Low glycemic carbs, more commonly known as complex carbohydrates, are sugars like their simple counterparts. Complex carbs differ from simple carbs in that complex carbohydrates are chains or clusters of sugars branched together which means they take longer to breakdown into their simplest form, glucose. The digestive processes involved with breaking apart complex carbs provides a much more steady release of glucose into the blood stream which ultimately results in a smaller insulin response. When insulin levels are low or nonexistent, the body utilizes fat for energy. Protein is an important tool in controlling insulin levels for two reasons: one, it does not cause an insulin response because it is not a carbohydrate. Two, protein takes a long time to digest and keeps you feeling satiated. If you're not feeling hungry, you're less likely to binge on those easily available simple carbohydrates you find in potato chips, candy and cookies.

There is a lot of useful information in this post and I want you to soak it up. Go to www.GlycemicIndex.com and take a look at what food falls where on the scale. Then, reflect for a second on what your daily meals are composed of. Are you eating a lean protein source at your major meals? Are you filling your day with complex or simple carbohydrates? Check back soon as I will discuss food selection and menu planning in the Part II of this segment.

Wakeup Workout: Train Anywhere

That's right all you need is an exercise band or two to get you through this entire routine. The amount of work that can be done with just your body weight and some exercise bands is highly underrated. Will doing this routine get you on the cover of Muscle & Fitness? No it won't, but it is an EXCELLENT way to burn some calories with little space, equipment and time. Give it a shot and let me know what you think!

Knowing Your Resting Metabolism

We are all told losing weight is easy: simply eat less calories than you take in! Unfortunately, some people take this advice and starve themselves to be absolutely sure they are not consuming more calories than they burn during the day. What most people don't know is too LITTLE calories can be just as bad for your health as eating too MANY calories. Your body is a finely tuned machine, whether you choose to treat it so or not. The human body burns calories simply being alive. Your Resting Metabolic Rate is the amount of calories you would burn just lounging around all day with no activity. If your food intake is below your RMR, your body will in fact SLOW down your metabolism you work so hard to increase in the gym. In order to slow the metabolism down, the body focuses on utilizing energy for the most important functions like brain and heart function. In this case the reproductive, immune and muscular systems take a backseat to nourishment and in turn suffer. Chronic under feeding will lead you to feeling fatigued, loss of muscle mass due to the body's desperate need for calories, weaken your immune system and may even lead you to storing more body fat as the body attempts to conserve calories as much as possible. Your RMR is the MINIMUM amount of calories you should be eating a day. You want to avoid eating below your RMR at all times because it is detrimental to your metabolism and your body. How do you find your Resting Metabolic Rate? Visit my BombergerPT.com homepage and click "Calcs". This will lead you to an RMR and daily caloric needs estimator. Enjoy!